The Salem Health answering service will end on Thursday, March 31, 2015. As the organization worked to improve internal levels of customer service, continuing to provide an excellent answering service at a reasonable rate proved difficult. Thank you for your patronage over the years.

If you have used a Salem Health pager as part of the answering service, please return it by March 31, 2015, with a completed physician contact form, as you will continue to be billed until it is returned. Please note, the hospital switchboard will still be able to page you through your new answering service and pager number.

Here is a short list of companies who focus solely on answering services:

A big thank you to those of you who have taken the survey in its first week! If you have not taken the survey, please look in your inbox for an email from INTEGRATED Healthcare Strategies (aka: survey.coordinator @ IHStrategies.com).

Your opinions are important to our success. Please take this opportunity to shape our future and help Salem Health continue to be a leader in health care.

If you did not receive the email or have been unable to take the survey, please contact Mary Maberry and she will help you get the survey link.

Jim and his wife, Kathryn, are in the process of relocating from Issaquah, Washington to Dallas, Oregon. Jim comes to WVH with a wide array of Executive Leadership skills and experiences, most recently from MultiCare Health System in Tacoma, Washington. Joining MultiCare in 2008, Jim was the Administrator of Imaging Services across 5 hospitals and a dozen clinic sites, and the Co-leader of Lean Implementation. Prior to that Jim was with Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, as the Administrative Director over Imaging and Neurosciences where he obtained his Lean certification. Before that he served as the CEO of Seattle Surgery Center from 2002 to 2005.

Jim obtained his MHA/MBA from the University of Minnesota where he focused on Healthcare Strategy, marketing and finance. His earlier studies included an MA in English from Indiana University and a BA in English from Dartmouth College. Jim is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, and a faculty member at Bellevue College (WA) and the University of Washington-Tacoma.

Correction

The Jan. 11, 2015 Common Ground newsletter listed the wrong office address for Dr. Michael Kelber. Dr. Kelber started working at Willamette Health Partners on Edgewater Street in January 2015.

Transition to electronic death certificationsSalem Health hospitalists are currently undergoing a pilot program of the Oregon Health Authority's Oregon Vital Events Registration System (OVERS). OVERS allows providers to sign death certificates using a biometric device that reads the provider's fingerprint.

Implementation of OVERS will speed up record completion for families and eliminate paperwork. Once the pilot program concludes, Salem Health will begin an organization-wide roll-out. All providers who are responsible for signing death certificates at Salem Health will be notified through the Medical Staff Office. These providers will be registered, enrolled and trained on using OVERS throughout February and March.

Salem Health is proud of it's Magnet designation and the commitment to excellence that it represents. A big part of Magnet and the ongoing process of redesignation is a fierce dedication to empirical outcomes. Recounting how this approach changed the treatment of pressure ulcers at Salem Health, Zennia Ceniza, RN, and Mary Bedell, RN, provide a real-world example of the benefits Magnet designation can bring to the communities you serve.

Dr. James Lace will be recognized with the Distinguished Service Award by the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce on Friday, March 6, at the First Citizen Awards Banquet. He is being recognized for his advocacy on behalf of children.

The Statesman Journal recently highlighted how an older population is contributing to Salem Hospital's record high census. Read: Crowded Salem Health faces parking problem from the Statesman Journal article on Jan. 23.